Toggle sidebar

OT: The Pittsburgher Thread: Off Season We dont need a QB Edition

pistolpete11 said:
I don't really care what's the best fit for Ekuale, though, nor do I really care about what's best for the 2025 Steelers. He definitely seems like just a guy, but if having just a guy at NT allows them to develop their 23-year-old future starting DE better, so be it.

Just because he's been a DE doesn't mean that's what he will be here, too. Pretty sure Alualu was a DE before coming to the Steelers and they moved him to NT. He wasn't an All Pro at NT or anything and in general is better than Ekuale, but he handled it well.

If he absolutely can't handle it, OK. You don't want him negatively affecting your evaluation and development of the rest of the defense either. But if he can be 'good enough', I'd rather go with him there and prioritize Benton's development at DE.
Click to expand...

I also think it largely depends on who they draft with their 1st rounder. Reading some scouting reports, it seems like Grant is projected to be a NT in the NFL, so that makes moving Benton to LE easy. But if they draft Harmon, it seems like Harmon is more suited as a DE rather than a NT, Harmon seems more like a pure Heyward successor.

I think drafting Grant as a NT and moving Benton to DE would be what I'd advocate for, but Grant also seems like a athletic freak with a super high upside and potential ability to shift to DE later. I also really like Harmon because he does seem like a future anchor at DE, but if moving Benton to DE is a priority, I think Grant makes a bit more sense.
 
Empoleon8771 said:
I also think it largely depends on who they draft with their 1st rounder. Reading some scouting reports, it seems like Grant is projected to be a NT in the NFL, so that makes moving Benton to LE easy. But if they draft Harmon, it seems like Harmon is more suited as a DE rather than a NT, Harmon seems more like a pure Heyward successor.

I think drafting Grant as a NT and moving Benton to DE would be what I'd advocate for, but Grant also seems like a athletic freak with a super high upside and potential ability to shift to DE later. I also really like Harmon because he does seem like a future anchor at DE, but if moving Benton to DE is a priority, I think Grant makes a bit more sense.
Click to expand...
At the risk of sounding like I don't think this conversation is worth having (not true), it's just funny to read conjecture about positions when the team often makes confusing and confounding decisions with player development and where and how they're used in the scheme.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JTG
Empoleon8771 said:
I also think it largely depends on who they draft with their 1st rounder. Reading some scouting reports, it seems like Grant is projected to be a NT in the NFL, so that makes moving Benton to LE easy. But if they draft Harmon, it seems like Harmon is more suited as a DE rather than a NT, Harmon seems more like a pure Heyward successor.

I think drafting Grant as a NT and moving Benton to DE would be what I'd advocate for, but Grant also seems like a athletic freak with a super high upside and potential ability to shift to DE later. I also really like Harmon because he does seem like a future anchor at DE, but if moving Benton to DE is a priority, I think Grant makes a bit more sense.
Click to expand...
It will play a factor, but also worth noting is that whoever they draft is not necessarily going to start Day 1.
 
Empoleon8771 said:
I wouldn’t mind that strategy, but I would also support planning on using a higher round pick in 2026 to target that as well. Unless it’s easy to get good NTs in the 4th, I’d rather use a 2nd next year to make sure their DL is fully set up with Benton and their 2025 1st at DE and the other drafted guy at NT.

That said, CB also seems like a pretty major hole they’ll need to use a 2nd on next year as well. That’s part of the reason I was frustrated with Slay on a 1 year deal, they really should have targeted a multi-year deal for someone younger to fill the CB2 slot for longer.
Click to expand...

I think they’re still holding out some hope Trice develops into that CB2. Which based on ability alone, he probably could. But the best ability is availability and that is rare for him.
 
So the 1st round pick for the Steelers is quickly approaching in the HFBoards NFL Mock Draft. NFL GDT: - 2025 HFBoards NFL Mock DRAFT (Post Picks Here)

One thing I didn't realize, is that if Shedeur Sanders isn't picked in the top 7, there isn't another team before the Steelers that "needs" or seems to be interested in Sanders. The Saints at 9 could be a destination but I never see him mocked there when he slides. After that, maybe the Colts, but they have Richardson and he is only 22, feels like they need to give him more time. If he isn't getting better next season, they can look to 2026.

Thus if the Draft moves the way the HFBoards draft is going, should the Steelers take Sanders at 21?

Another option would be, the Steelers may be in the perfect position to trade back with say the Giants, and pick up picks 34 (2nd) and 65 (3rd). Or take 34 (2nd) and a 2026 2nd round pick, e.g. build more ammo for 2026.
 
Goalie_Bob said:
So the 1st round pick for the Steelers is quickly approaching in the HFBoards NFL Mock Draft. NFL GDT: - 2025 HFBoards NFL Mock DRAFT (Post Picks Here)

One thing I didn't realize, is that if Shedeur Sanders isn't picked in the top 7, there isn't another team before the Steelers that "needs" or seems to be interested in Sanders. The Saints at 9 could be a destination but I never see him mocked there when he slides. After that, maybe the Colts, but they have Richardson and he is only 22, feels like they need to give him more time. If he isn't getting better next season, they can look to 2026.

Thus if the Draft moves the way the HFBoards draft is going, should the Steelers take Sanders at 21?

Another option would be, the Steelers may be in the perfect position to trade back with say the Giants, and pick up picks 34 (2nd) and 65 (3rd). Or take 34 (2nd) and a 2026 2nd round pick, e.g. build more ammo for 2026.
Click to expand...
In order of preference:

1. Trade down, take the extra pick in 2026
2. Trade down, take the extra pick in 2025
3. Just keep the pick and take one of the DL
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
99. Draft Sanders (or Dart) at 21
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ulf5, wheelz87, bigdaddyk88 and 2 others
pistolpete11 said:
In order of preference:

1. Trade down, take the extra pick in 2026
2. Trade down, take the extra pick in 2025
3. Just keep the pick and take one of the DL
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
99. Draft Sanders (or Dart) at 21
Click to expand...
I’m sorta here too, but I do think they should trade down and take an extra second this this draft…if they want to take a flyer on a QB on day 2 that’s fine but under NO circumstances should they trade up or stay put and take a QB in round one this year lol
 
I'm a firm no on drafting a QB in this draft, outside of a backup guy with a day 3 pick. The 2026 class is looking substantially better, I'd much rather trade up in 2026 to get someone like Sellers or Allar at #10 than trade up this year to get Sanders.

My draft strategy right now would firmly be:

Round 1: DL, ideally Grant to push Benton to DE
Round 3: RB
Round 4: LG
Round 5: QB
Round 6 and 7: shore up any depth concerns you have at positions like CB, WR or S
 
Andy99 said:
I’m sorta here too, but I do think they should trade down and take an extra second this this draft…if they want to take a flyer on a QB on day 2 that’s fine but under NO circumstances should they trade up or stay put and take a QB in round one this year lol
Click to expand...
Not sure they would get a 2nd in a trade down most simulators you get back a 3rd and 5th if you trade back with Washington Buffalo or Houston
 
  • Like
Reactions: Andy99
CheckingLineCenter said:
Id be despondent if we took Shedeur Sanders

We had an actual talented and really good QB that was a hard dude to root QB for years in Ben.

Sanders is like 100x the douche with 1/3rd the talent
Click to expand...
LOL the good news is he would wash out before "for years".

I agree with others that there should be plenty of depth QBs late in this draft if the team wants to add one just because. Indeed, I used to think Dart was one of those guys but his stock rise prices him out of the range where he should be drafted.
 
Last edited:
  • Haha
Reactions: CheckingLineCenter
I think my only hesitation with drafting a QB this year is that I don't really see a long-term purpose of drafting a QB when you're definitely drafting someone in 2026 and you have Rudolph under contract. If you draft say Will Howard in round 5 and go with Rudolph and Howard this year, what is your QB room in 2026 looking like? Do you draft someone in round 1 and cut or push one of Howard or Rudolph to QB3? Seems like a wasted pick if you do that.

I think it makes more sense to just throw a 1 year deal at another QB, whether it be Wilson, Winston or whoever, and just draft a QB next year.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JTG
I could maybe sell myself on Sanders at 21OA if it wasn't for all the drama about him being his father's son. I'm not ecstatic about the idea as it's a bet pretty much entirely on IQ on a guy who doesn't have a consensus behind him for that, and my preferred draft strategy for QBs* is top 10 or R5 on, but I could talk myself into it because I do like high IQ prospects and some guys say he has it.

But all the drama, well, I'm not trying. Maybe I'm right and maybe I'm wrong, but I'd probably be wrong trying to like him as a player anyway so why try?

Dart has great stats (but with a notable downtick in some of them against top teams) and great intangibles and good tools but there's no great tools so I'm deeply non-interested. The Zierlein comp of him as Minshew makes too much sense for me.


If there's a draft QB I'm interested in, it's what's his face who played on a bad ACL and still had an okay enough year to be draft-worthy but maybe bounces back big for healing properly. Kurtis something? Kurtis Rourke I think. Probably nothing tho, like the rest of them.

Empoleon8771 said:
I think my only hesitation with drafting a QB this year is that I don't really see a long-term purpose of drafting a QB when you're definitely drafting someone in 2026 and you have Rudolph under contract. If you draft say Will Howard in round 5 and go with Rudolph and Howard this year, what is your QB room in 2026 looking like? Do you draft someone in round 1 and cut or push one of Howard or Rudolph to QB3? Seems like a wasted pick if you do that.

I think it makes more sense to just throw a 1 year deal at another QB, whether it be Wilson, Winston or whoever, and just draft a QB next year.
Click to expand...

I am okay with inefficiency with picks if it makes finding a QB quicker. I'd rather not spend big on it but taking Howard as a guy who maaaaybe pays off big, maybe is QB2 in Y1, QB3 in Y2, then back to QB2 in Y3/4 seems fine. It's not like most fifth rounders are any more useful.
 
Is it crazy to say that Sanders seems like a Pickett esque prospect? Maybe a little more talented, but I don’t know that there’s a huge difference between the two.
 
Andy99 said:
I’m sorta here too, but I do think they should trade down and take an extra second this this draft…if they want to take a flyer on a QB on day 2 that’s fine but under NO circumstances should they trade up or stay put and take a QB in round one this year lol
Click to expand...
I'm all-in on getting the QB next year. Having the extra 2nd next year gives them some extra ammo, but more importantly, it's likely a higher 2nd if it's the Giants pick. Is the difference between say pick 34 and 54 the difference between getting the deal done? Maybe, maybe not, but I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it. If they don't need it for a QB, it's still a valuable pick to have to fill one of the other needs.

It's a minor preference, though. I'd still take the extra pick this year, but I'd use it on an extra DL, CB, G, WR, etc. I really don't like the idea of using picks on a QB this year. They have enough other needs. A shot in the dark or projected backup QB is a luxury pick they can't afford IMO. A 6th or 7th round, fine, maybe, but I wouldn't use anything higher this year.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Buddy Bizarre and Andy99
Peat said:
I am okay with inefficiency with picks if it makes finding a QB quicker. I'd rather not spend big on it but taking Howard as a guy who maaaaybe pays off big, maybe is QB2 in Y1, QB3 in Y2, then back to QB2 in Y3/4 seems fine. It's not like most fifth rounders are any more useful.
Click to expand...

I would be pretty shocked for Howard to end up anything more than a Rudolph caliber guy, or pretty much any 5th rounder you could take for that matter. That said, I would expect Howard to go with some sort of progression like that and possibly see if he could be a Rudolph caliber guy as soon as next year. If that's the case, you can just cut Rudolph then.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Buddy Bizarre
www.espn.com

Steelers' Heyward fed up waiting on Rodgers

Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward said on his podcast Tuesday that he has no plans to recruit Aaron Rodgers and that he just wants Pittsburgh's quarterback situation settled.
www.espn.com www.espn.com


He's playing this off like he's tired of being involved in the QB search, but to me, this reads like he (and probably others) don't like Rodgers and don't really want him here.
 
xlm34 said:
Is it crazy to say that Sanders seems like a Pickett esque prospect? Maybe a little more talented, but I don’t know that there’s a huge difference between the two.
Click to expand...

My profile reading of him strongly reminds me of Pickett tbh. NFL calibre arms but on the lower end. Worrying pocket presence. Smart, tough, and productive but not so much that it isn't a struggle to ignore that. Pickett is a better athlete, but not by enough to matter. Sanders maybe more accurate? But I'm not sure by enough to matter.

And hey, I still think they could have made a decent NFL QB out of Pickett with better development... but probably not a true franchise one. Think I see the same with Sanders. I'd also add that one of Pickett's big problems was being frail, but if you're gonna be tough with a non-huge body, there's a good chance you'll be frail. And Sanders is tough, and his body is pretty slight.

Empoleon8771 said:
I would be pretty shocked for Howard to end up anything more than a Rudolph caliber guy, or pretty much any 5th rounder you could take for that matter. That said, I would expect Howard to go with some sort of progression like that and possibly see if he could be a Rudolph caliber guy as soon as next year. If that's the case, you can just cut Rudolph then.
Click to expand...

Well yeah. But even with late round prospects, I'd still be working on that what if possibility and how close they come to it. There's enough late round QBs who worked out, at least for a bit, to make it worth thinking about, as the NFL just can't figure out how to accurately forecast which college QBs will translate.
 
xlm34 said:
I think they’re still holding out some hope Trice develops into that CB2. Which based on ability alone, he probably could. But the best ability is availability and that is rare for him.
Click to expand...

That's a big ask for Trice. Don't mind him in packages or starting 1-3 games bc of injury, but we're gonna have a bad time if he's asked to be the other boundary corner. He's gonna have to take a big leap and I just don't see it. Reminds me of Deshea Townsend in that regard...
 
Empoleon8771 said:
I think my only hesitation with drafting a QB this year is that I don't really see a long-term purpose of drafting a QB when you're definitely drafting someone in 2026 and you have Rudolph under contract. If you draft say Will Howard in round 5 and go with Rudolph and Howard this year, what is your QB room in 2026 looking like? Do you draft someone in round 1 and cut or push one of Howard or Rudolph to QB3? Seems like a wasted pick if you do that.

I think it makes more sense to just throw a 1 year deal at another QB, whether it be Wilson, Winston or whoever, and just draft a QB next year.
Click to expand...
Well yes Howard Nfl comparison is a more mobile Mason. Howard and Mason are most likely backups but you need multiple darts thrown at the qb position. Draft a qb every year until someone sticks. They can easily move off mason next season if want or he can be Mitch. Right now they only have 1 qb under contract. If they wanted Wilson back he would be signed they don’t. Winston would be fun but Tomlin isn’t going to sign off on him.
 
Buddy Bizarre said:
And as I said about 3x in this thread, once NHALS was secured in those last 3 RS games Rudolph played they didn't attack MOF any more. Because "it's too risky"....gotta win with that awesome defense and limit turnovers
Click to expand...
And yet in the playoff game against buffalo mason was using the mof
 
pistolpete11 said:
www.espn.com

Steelers' Heyward fed up waiting on Rodgers

Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward said on his podcast Tuesday that he has no plans to recruit Aaron Rodgers and that he just wants Pittsburgh's quarterback situation settled.
www.espn.com www.espn.com


He's playing this off like he's tired of being involved in the QB search, but to me, this reads like he (and probably others) don't like Rodgers and don't really want him here.
Click to expand...
Rodgers is 100 percent a Tomlin decision it’s not a group decision with TJ and Cam like RW was
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
adding hide avatars option

Latest posts

Ad

Ad

Top Bottom